San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo was not with the team for most of its 0-9 run last season. He is, however, reminded of it on a daily basis.
"In our locker room, we remember that we were 0-9," the quarterback told Albert Breer of The MMQB. "We have signs up, reminders that we haven't done anything yet, and we have to go out and prove it this year."
While the media and fans hype up the upcoming season, the 49ers themselves remain grounded. They know that last season's finish means nothing for the forthcoming campaign. No one is going to hand the team anything because of a winning streak that ended nearly eight months ago.
That doesn't mean the team doesn't hear the noise from outside. The players know what is being said of them. They are on social media interacting with fans. They watch NFL Network. They know everyone views them as a potential breakout team.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan sat down for a conversation on the Pardon My Take podcast on Sunday. During the lengthy discussion, he was asked what it is like dealing with the outside expectations and what he's doing to temper them inside the building.
"I just hit them with reality," Shanahan said. "I mean, we were 6-10. We went through a struggle last year, and we ended up turning it around. Jimmy (Garoppolo) came in; our team got better. I won't take that struggle back for anything. I'll always say I think that made us who we are and now we've got to start this over again.
"I get it, the hype and everything, when you end the way we did, but it doesn't mean anything. You've got to see how your players handle it when they get back. If our guys came back and hadn't worked while they were gone and they were kind of coasting and saying, 'No, we've just got to get to Week 1,' then I would feel panicked about it. I'd address it a ton.
"Our team hasn't been that way. Our team knows that we've got a lot of work ahead. We know this isn't going to be easy and we know we're going to have to work for everything we do."
During the nearly 30-minute — and often humorous — conversation, Shanahan also discussed why the ping pong tables in the locker room are important for the team, what it was like working with his dad, adapting to Robert Griffin III's skill set in Washington, Jimmy Garoppolo's strengths and good looks, and his regrets from the Super Bowl loss to the New England Patriots.
You can listen to the entire interview with Shanahan, which starts at about the 41:25 mark, here.
